Lesotho trundles along bumpy road to ... peace?
Mbongeni Mguni | Thursday June 30, 2016 12:28
Two countries. Both near or around the heart of southern Africa. Both bountifully blessed with pristine natural beauty. Both sparkling with diamonds. Both with populations of about two million people. Both gained independence from colonial Britain three days apart in the same year, 1966. Both, culturally and linguistically, belong to the Sotho-Tswana subsect of the Southern Bantu.
The fact that one has abundant water reservoirs and the other is largely desert, and that at least 19 Lesothos could fit into Botswana in terms of land area, is among the major differences between the two countries.
The biggest difference, however, was on show this week, as President Ian Khama, in his capacity as SADC chair, renewed his attempts to steer the mountain kingdom away from veering off a cliff.
Political and security conflicts, often leading to violence and bloodshed, have rocked Lesotho in one form or another since its independence, being the ‘biggest difference’ from Botswana, which has become world-renowned for enduring peace.
In January, five months into his SADC tenure, Khama convened an extraordinary meeting on Lesotho and was then forced to save the kingdom, after exasperated SADC leaders resolved to suspend the country.
This week, a month away from handing over the chair to Swaziland’s King Mswati III, Khama hoped to find significant progress made by Lesotho in adhering to SADC’s road to peace, which involves constitutional, political and security reforms.
Khama’s predecessor was Robert Mugabe and his successor is Mswati. Between those two, analysts say, Lesotho’s best chance of emerging from its latest conflict lay with Khama’s tenure.
“He has been outspoken on issues of human rights and the question of impunity in Africa,” National University of Lesotho professor, Mafa Sejanamane told Mmegi.
“He has not even gone to some African Union meetings because there are people there who have tended to pat each other on the back while doing wrong things.
Khama must lead SADC and show that, “while I was chair, I was able to ensure that a state that almost fell apart and did not observe the rule of law, was brought to order”.
“His legacy as chair will be strengthened by showing leadership, that under his watch, rule of law was restored in Lesotho.”
The military in Lesotho has a history of disregarding civilian rule, with a coup in 1986, conflicts in 1994 and 1998 as well as political and security unrest in 2007.
Lesotho has been ruled by coalitions with military linkages for years, where sections of the army’s leadership are loyal to certain leaders and are prepared to respond with violence to measures they are unhappy about.
The route to the latest crisis and this week’s SADC meeting, can be traced back to August 29, 2014 when power struggles within the military led to the then prime minister, Tom Thabane firing then army chief, Tlali Kamodi and replacing him with Maaparankoe Mahao. On August 30, military unrest broke out from a section of the Lesotho army, forcing first Thabane and later Mahao, to flee the country to South Africa.
SADC intervened, sending Mahao, Kamodi and police chief, Khothatso Tsooana out of the country on a ‘leave of absence’ while bringing elections forward to February 2015.
Pakalitha Mosisili, a University of Botswana trained veteran politician, won the February 2015 vote being his second term in power after a 1998-2012 stay, during which time he also served as Minister of Defence.
After his installation in March 2015, Mosisili quickly reappointed Kamodi as military commander and terminated Mahao, arguing that the latter’s appointment by Thabane had been improperly done.
Earlier that month, reports emerged of a mutiny plot involving Mahao and soldiers loyal to him. The plot was alleged to target and kill several military leaders.
On May 13, an operation was kicked off to arrest the alleged mutiny plotters and plans were also put in place to arrest Mahao. On May 22, Mahao was removed officially and demoted back to Brigadier from Lieutenant General.
On June 25, Mahao was killed by soldiers during what the army and Mosisili’s government say was a crackdown on mutineers. To date, it is believed at least 50 soldiers are behind bars on mutiny charges, while 23 others are in hiding in South Africa and the region.
Mosisili invited SADC’s intervention and regional leaders appointed a 10-man Commission of Inquiry led by retired local judge, Mpaphi Phumaphi, which recommended the removal of Kamodi and all officers implicated in various murders and assaults, continuation of the investigations into Mahao’s death and amnesty to cover all those accused of plotting a mutiny.
Mosisili and his government, who have been vocal against Phumaphi’s Commission and its findings, dragged their feet implementing the recommendations, resulting in the near suspension and this week’s meeting to update on progress.
A delegation of legislators from opposition parties in Lesotho were in town to push SADC for a tougher stance against Mosisili and the implementation of Phumaphi’s recommendations. “The key recommendation is Kamodi’s removal, which is a precursor to the return of exiled leaders, which we believe will happen,” Joang Molapo, a Basotho National Party MP told Mmegi this week.
“The second is the issue of an amnesty for soldiers accused of mutiny.
“We have heard that government has taken a decision on Kamodi that will be announced soon, but on the second, they are pushing for a general amnesty that will cover both those accused of mutiny and soldiers who have been involved in criminal acts.
“Phumaphi has said it was not likely there was ever a plan for mutiny, but government is holding these soldiers in prison as a bargaining chip to push for a general amnesty.”
While the group of opposition MPs were confident that Kamodi’s removal is in the works, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi revealed that during this week’s discussions, Lesotho authorities were intransigent on this position.
“They stated that they do not agree with that and as SADC, there are limits to how far we can go,” she said. “There are matters that are sovereign, where countries’ laws protect them, such as those types of appointments.”
The development is a step back from June 20, when statements made by Mosisili in the Lesotho parliament appeared to be pointing to Kamodi’s departure.
“Government has heard the national and international agitations and hysteria, fuelled by a very strong negative perception that has been created around general Kamodi.
“In light of this, government has decided to engage general Kamodi, on a mutually agreeable solution and a definitive statement will be made in good time, following due process in this regard,” the Prime Minister said, after describing Phumaphi’s recommendation on Kamodi as “by far the most contentious and problematic”.
“The reasons advanced to motivate this recommendation are highly controversial and most unconvincing. Many of them are plain untruths.
“In other words, in the opinion of government, this really is a very big recommendation based on or chasing very little empirical evidence. Government is convinced that, in spite of the fervent and highly spirited campaign to demonise and tarnish his image, general Kamodi remains a competent, dedicated and loyal officer whose credentials are unquestionable.
“So it is not obvious to us that removing him is actually in the best interest of our country,” Mosisili said.
Analysts believe this is the same position the Prime Minister took to the closed door meeting this week, leading to a communiqué that was silent on the commander.
Mosisili, in line with his parliamentary address, is expected to have pushed his general amnesty offer at SADC, where he is seeking to pardon, not only the soldiers accused of mutiny, but others believed to be behind attacks, murders and other crimes against political rivals in the past few years. While the final SADC communiqué was unclear on the position taken on the amnesty, the establishment of two SADC teams and an oversight committee to handhold the Lesotho government in constitutional, political and security reforms, appears in line with opposition parties’ demands.
“Government has politicised the civil service, removing those it believes are with the opposition,” said another MP, H.S Lehana in Gaborone. “For the SADC recommendations to work, we need SADC to oversee this. There are security and constitutional reforms required and without SADC’s unbiased help, there will not be a long term solution.
“You can see that a systemic, repressive regime is being put in place and people have no confidence in the government. Even if the recommendations are agreed upon, they will be implemented unfairly, unless SADC oversees them.”
SADC’s oversight will be critical in the implementation of Phumaphi’s second recommendation, relating to the prosecution of those responsible for Mahao’s death.
Mosisili, in his parliamentary remarks, said finding and punishing Mahao’s killers was the right thing to do by the rule of law, but added qualifiers to his statement.
“Having said that, I wish to indicate that the issue of investigation in Lesotho is guided by a time-tested international procedure. Police investigate, pass their findings to the director of public prosecutions and if there is a case, this is pursued in courts of law,” he said. The qualifier did not sit well with the opposition.
“When the Phumaphi Commission was set up, the idea of bringing in an outside person was because the police would have been intimidated by the army,” Molapo said.
“Now we are being told to believe that the police can investigate the army’s conduct and we don’t believe this. People with an outside mandate must be brought in, to remove prejudice.” His comments were supported by the late Mahao’s brother, Lehloenya. “The message is that the department of prosecutions may say there’s no case and that means the matter dies there and then,” he told Mmegi in Gaborone this week. “Our position is that in addition, we need someone from outside to work with the police to investigate this case.
“We believe our judicial system sides with government and we don’t believe the judgement will be objective. Even the judiciary must be reinforced by SADC.”
As they left Gaborone late on Tuesday afternoon, the SADC heads of state would have had mixed feelings about their success in steering Lesotho back on the road to peace.
For Khama, whose tenure expires in August, his further involvement via SADC will be as a member of one of the regional body’s top decision-making committees, an organ housing the past, present and forthcoming chairmen.
He will be hoping to steer the troubled mountain kingdom to the peace, he and other leaders before him have established in Botswana over the decades.